CN114375584A

CN114375584A - Group indication of spatially neighboring UEs

Info

Publication number: CN114375584A
Application number: CN202080063429.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周彦; J.李; T.罗
Original assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Current assignee: Qualcomm Inc
Priority date: 2019-09-17
Filing date: 2020-09-16
Publication date: 2022-04-19
Also published as: EP4032353A1; US11425526B2; WO2021055456A1; US20210084441A1

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A first User Equipment (UE) may transmit a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. The first UE may receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. The first UE may then communicate with the base station based on the beam configuration. For example, the first UE may be configured for beam measurement and reporting of the group. The base station may then select a common beam for the UEs in the group based on the beam measurements and reports performed by the first UE.

Description

Group indication of spatially neighboring UEs

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present patent application claims priority from U.S. patent application No.17/021,873 entitled "GROUP INDICATION OF SPATIALLY PROXIMATE UEs" (filed on 9/15 2020 by ZHOU et al), which claims benefit from U.S. provisional patent application No.62/901,604 entitled "GROUP INDICATION OF SPATIALLY PROXIMATE UEs" (filed on 9/17 2019 by ZHOU et al.

Technical Field

The following relates generally to wireless communications and more particularly to group indication of spatially proximate UEs.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems are capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-advanced (LTE-a) systems, or LTE-a Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or discrete fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include many base stations or network access nodes that each simultaneously support communication for multiple communication devices, which may otherwise be referred to as User Equipment (UE).

The base station may communicate with the UE using beamforming communication. Techniques for managing UE mobility and proximity while performing beamformed communications may be improved.

Disclosure of Invention

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices and apparatus supporting group indication of spatially neighboring User Equipments (UEs). In general, the described techniques provide for managing proximate UEs. A base station may support beamformed communication with multiple UEs. In some cases, each beam of a base station may serve multiple UEs, such as if the UEs are in proximity. Each UE may not use a large amount of bandwidth for its payload, and therefore the UEs may be frequency division multiplexed on the same beam. Grouping UEs that are spatially close may provide some benefits to the base station. For example, when the base station performs beam scanning, the grouped UEs may be scanned together as one group.

To help the base station identify the UE group, the UE may send a group proximity message to the base station. The group proximity message may indicate that there are groups of UEs that are proximate to each other. In some cases, the group proximity message may include an approximation of the proximity of the UE, such as the UE being within a particular radius. The group proximity message may include information of the UEs in the group (such as an identifier of the UE), an identifier of the group, a proximity metric (such as a group radius), a leader UE identifier, a UE location, or any combination thereof. The group information may be dynamically updated, for example, by sending another group proximity message. The base station may receive the group proximity message and communicate with the group of UEs based on the group proximity message. In some cases, by indicating the group of UEs, the base station can reduce beam measurement and reporting overhead. For example, the base station may configure only a subset of UEs in the group for beam measurement and reporting, and the base station may use the same beam for each UE in the group. In some cases, a reference signal for UE beam measurement may be signaled to a UE of the group (e.g., only one UE of the group), and each UE in the group may measure the reference signal. In some cases, the group proximity message may reduce beam scanning signaling overhead for the base station. For example, rather than signaling changes individually to each UE, the base station may update the beam scanning pattern for a group of UEs.

A method of wireless communication by a first UE is described. The method may include transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, receiving a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with a base station based on the beam configuration.

An apparatus for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: the method includes transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, receiving a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with a base station based on the beam configuration.

Another apparatus for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The apparatus may include means for transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, means for receiving a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and means for communicating with a base station based on the beam configuration.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first UE is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to: the method includes transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, receiving a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with a base station based on the beam configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, communicating with a base station may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, by a first UE, a beam measurement report for a group of UEs to the base station based on a beam measurement report configuration.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from a base station via a beam selected for transmission to a group of UEs based on a beam measurement report.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration for a first subset of a group of UEs, the first subset including a first UE.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, communicating with the base station may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting, by the first UE, a first subset of beam measurement reports to the base station based on the beam measurement reporting configuration.

Some examples of the methods, devices, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via a beam selected for transmission to the first subset based on the beam measurement report.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first UE and the second UE may be at respective edges of a formation of the group, and wherein the beam may be selected by the base station for each UE in the group based on a relative position of the respective UEs in the group.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the receive beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a broadcast message or a multicast message of the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE of the group of UEs, wherein communicating with the base station may be based on the broadcast message or the multicast message.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the broadcast message or the multicast message may include Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the DCI may include a group-common DCI.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group common DCI may be scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with the group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a group identifier for a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting the group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting group information of a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group information includes one or more of a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of a group of UEs, wherein communicating with a base station may be according to the beam scanning pattern.

A method of wireless communication by a base station is described. The method may include receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, transmitting a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

An apparatus for wireless communication by a base station is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: the method includes receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, transmitting a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

Another apparatus for wireless communications by a base station is described. The apparatus may include means for receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, means for transmitting a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and means for communicating with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communications by a base station is described. The code may include executable by a processor to: the method includes receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, transmitting a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicating with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group communication with the UE may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a beam measurement report for the group of UEs from a first UE of the group of UEs based on the beam measurement report configuration.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a data transmission or a control transmission to one or more UEs of the group of UEs via a beam selected for transmission to the group of UEs based on the beam measurement report.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a beam configuration indicating a first beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of a group of UEs and a second beam measurement reporting configuration of a second subset of the group of UEs.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for selecting a beam for each UE in the group based on the relative position of the respective UEs in the group.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group communication with the UEs may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a first beam measurement report of a first subset from a first UE of the group of UEs based on a first beam measurement report configuration, and receiving a second beam measurement report of a second subset from a second UE of the group of UEs based on a second beam measurement report configuration.

Some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may also include operations, features, means, or instructions for sending a first data transmission or a first control transmission from the base station to the first subset via a first beam selected for transmission to the first subset based on the first beam measurement report, and sending a second data transmission or a second control transmission from the base station to the second subset via a second beam selected for transmission to the second subset based on the second beam measurement report.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a group proximity message indicating movement sequence information of one or more UEs in a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a group identifier for a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving the group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving a set of UE identities associated with a group identifier, wherein the set of UE identifiers may correspond to the first UE and the second UE.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving a group proximity message may include operations, features, means, or instructions for receiving group information for a group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group proximity message may indicate that the group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other based on UE location data of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, transmitting a beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of a group of UEs, wherein group communication with the UEs may be according to the beam scanning pattern.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the transmit beam configuration may include operations, features, means, or instructions for transmitting a broadcast or multicast message for the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE in the group of UEs, wherein the group communication with the UEs may be based on the broadcast or multicast message.

In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the broadcast message or the multicast message may include DCI or MAC-CE.

In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the group common DCI may be scrambled using an RNTI associated with the group of UEs.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communication that supports group indication of spatially proximate UEs in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 and 5 illustrate block diagrams of devices according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 shows a diagram of a system including a device according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 and 9 illustrate block diagrams of devices according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram of a communication manager in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 shows a diagram of a system including a device according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12-15 show flow charts illustrating methods according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

A base station may support beamformed communication with a plurality of User Equipment (UEs). In some cases, each beam of a base station may serve multiple UEs. For example, if multiple UEs are nearby, or the antenna array is divided into multiple sub-array MIMO for Multiple Users (MUs) (MU-MIMO), then each beam may serve multiple UEs. In some cases, the UE may not use a large amount of bandwidth for its payload. In this example, UEs may be grouped and served by a common beam by frequency division multiplexing the grouped UEs such that each UE of the group is allocated a different portion of the bandwidth on the beam. Grouping UEs that are spatially close may provide some benefits to the base station. For example, when the base station performs beam scanning, the grouped UEs may be scanned together as one group. Thus, there may be some advantages for the base station to identify the group of UEs 115. The techniques described herein support enhanced management of UE proximity and grouping.

For example, the UE may send a group proximity message to the base station. The group proximity message may indicate that there are groups of UEs that are proximate to each other. In an example, the group of UEs may be in a car, on a moving robot, or on different vehicles in a queue. In some cases, the indication may include an approximation of the proximity of the UE, such as the UE being within a certain radius. The UE may detect that there are other UEs in close proximity based on, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, detecting the same beacon signal, or being preconfigured as a related device group. The group proximity message may include information of the UEs in the group. For example, the indication may include an identifier of the UE, an identifier of the group, a proximity metric such as a group radius, a leader UE identifier, a UE location, or any combination thereof. For example, the group information may be dynamically updated by sending another group proximity message.

The base station may receive the group proximity message and communicate with the group of UEs 115 based on the group proximity message. In some cases, by indicating the group of UEs, the base station can reduce beam measurement and reporting overhead. For example, the base station may configure only a subset of UEs in the group for beam measurement and reporting, and then the base station may use the same beam for each UE in the group. In some cases, a reference signal for UE beam measurement may be signaled to a UE of the group (e.g., only one UE of the group), and each UE in the group may measure the reference signal. In some cases, the group proximity message may reduce beam scanning signaling overhead for the base station. For example, rather than signaling changes individually to each UE, the base station may update the beam scanning pattern for the group of UEs.

Aspects of the present disclosure are initially described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow charts related to group indication of spatially proximate UEs.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports group indication of spatially proximate UEs in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes base stations 105, UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-advanced (LTE-a) network, an LTE-a Pro network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low cost and low complexity devices.

The base station 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UE115 via one or more base station antennas. The base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as base transceiver stations, radio base stations, access points, radio transceivers, nodebs, enodebs (enbs), next generation nodebs or giga-nodebs (any of which may be referred to as gnbs), home nodebs, home enodebs, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UEs 115 described herein are capable of communicating with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro enbs, small cell enbs, gnbs, relay base stations, and the like.

Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which communications with various UEs 115 are supported. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UEs 115 to the base stations 105 or downlink transmissions from the base stations 105 to the UEs 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

The geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 can be divided into sectors that form a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector can be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other type of cell, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, heterogeneous LTE/LTE-a/LTE-APro or NR networks in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with the base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing neighboring cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of geographic coverage area 110 over which a logical entity operates.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE115 may be fixed or mobile. UE115 may also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. The UE115 may also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, the UE115 may also refer to a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, an internet of things (IoT) device, an internet of everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which may be implemented in various items such as appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication techniques that allow devices to communicate with each other or with the base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application that can utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, device monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based service charging.

Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but not both). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for the UE115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communication, or operating on a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication). In some cases, the UE115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communication for these functions.

In some cases, the UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 (e.g., using peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocols). One or more UEs 115 of the group of UEs 115 communicating using D2D may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some cases, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1: M) system, where each UE115 transmits to every other UE115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving base stations 105.

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may be connected with the core network 130 over backhaul links 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces) directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130).

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Core network 130 may be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) that may include at least one Mobility Management Entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access stratum (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be transmitted through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address assignment as well as other functions. The P-GW may be connected to a network operator IP service. The operator IP services may include access to the internet, intranets, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) or Packet Switched (PS) streaming services.

At least some network devices, such as base stations 105, may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of Access Node Controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UE115 through many other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, intelligent radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region from 300MHz to 3GHz is referred to as the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) region or the decimeter band because wavelengths range from about one decimeter to one meter in length. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by building and environmental features. However, the waves may penetrate the structure sufficiently for the macro cell to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. UHF-wave transmission can be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100km) compared to transmission of smaller and longer waves using the High Frequency (HF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the ultra high frequency (SHF) region (also referred to as the centimeter band) using a frequency band from 3GHz to 30 GHz. The SHF region includes bands such as the 5GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band that may be used speculatively by equipment that can tolerate interference from other users.

The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Extremely High Frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30GHz to 300GHz), also referred to as the millimeter-wave band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communication between the UE115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the various devices may be even smaller and spaced closer together than the UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be used for transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the band designated for use on the different frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory body.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may use both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band, such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in the unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 may employ a Listen Before Talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that a frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration (e.g., LAA) in combination with component carriers operating in the licensed band. Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD), Time Division Duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

In some examples, a base station 105 or UE115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., UE 115), where the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, multiple signals may be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, multiple signals may be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) in which a plurality of spatial layers are transmitted to a plurality of devices.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) to shape or control an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals transmitted via antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular direction with respect to the antenna array experience constructive interference while other signals experience destructive interference. The adjustment of the signals communicated via the antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying a particular amplitude and phase offset to the signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular direction (e.g., relative to an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or relative to some other direction).

In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays for beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times in different directions by the base station 105, which may include signals transmitted according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with the different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device such as the UE 115) a beam direction for subsequent transmission and/or reception by the base station 105.

Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device, such as the UE 115). In some examples, a beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, the UE115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions, and the UE115 may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal it receives with the highest signal quality or otherwise acceptable signal quality. Although the techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by the base station 105 in one or more directions, the UE115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115), or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., UE115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams when receiving various signals, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals, from the base station 105. For example, a receiving device may attempt multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna sub-arrays, by processing signals received according to different antenna sub-arrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing signals received according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, either of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may receive (e.g., when receiving data signals) along a single beam direction using a single receive beam. The single receive beam may be aligned with a beam direction determined based on listening from different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio, or acceptable signal quality in addition thereto based on listening from multiple beam directions).

In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or UE115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operation or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UEs 115. Likewise, the UE115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication at the bearer layer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate on logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of RRC connections between the UE115 and the base station 105 or core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

In some cases, the UE115 and the base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood of successfully receiving the data. HARQ feedback is one technique that increases the likelihood of correctly receiving data on the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a particular slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in subsequent time slots or according to some other time interval.

The time interval in LTE or NR may be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit, which may refer to a sampling period Ts of 1/30,720,000 seconds, for example. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be denoted as Tf 307,200 Ts. The radio frames may be identified by a System Frame Number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes, numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. One subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each having a duration of 0.5ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix appended to the front of each symbol period). Each symbol period may contain 2048 sample periods, excluding the cyclic prefix. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a Transmission Time Interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened ttis (sTTI) or in selected component carriers using sTTI).

In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into a plurality of small slots containing one or more symbols. In some cases, the symbol of the mini-slot or the mini-slot may be the smallest unit of scheduling. For example, the duration of each symbol may vary depending on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement time slot aggregation, where multiple time slots or minislots are aggregated together and used for communication between the UE115 and the base station 105.

The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications over the communication link 125. For example, the carrier of the communication link 125 may comprise a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band operating in accordance with a physical layer channel of a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. The carriers may be associated with predefined frequency channels (e.g., evolved universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel numbers (EARFCNs)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UEs 115. The carriers may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, a signal waveform transmitted on a carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multicarrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)).

The organization of the carriers may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. The carriers may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling that coordinates operation for the carriers. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers.

The physical channels may be multiplexed on the carriers according to various techniques. The physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on the downlink carrier using, for example, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) techniques, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some examples, control information transmitted in physical control channels may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

The carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a carrier or "system bandwidth" of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of many predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80MHz) of the carrier for a particular radio access technology. In some examples, each served UE115 may be configured to operate over part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of narrowband protocol types) associated with a predefined portion or range within a carrier (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs).

In a system employing MCM technology, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements the UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE 115. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communicating with the UE 115.

Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations 105 or UEs 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configured to support communication over one carrier bandwidth of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and/or a UE115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidth.

The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with UEs 115 over multiple cells or carriers, a feature that may be referred to as carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. According to a carrier aggregation configuration, a UE115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize enhanced component carriers (eccs). An eCC may be characterized by one or more characteristics including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in unlicensed spectrum or shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be used by UEs 115 that may not be able to monitor the entire carrier bandwidth or otherwise be configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., for power saving).

In some cases, an eCC may use a different symbol duration than other component carriers, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of the other component carriers. Shorter symbol durations may be associated with increased and decreased intervals between adjacent subcarriers. A device using an eCC, such as a UE115 or a base station 105, may transmit a wideband signal with a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds) (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80MHz, etc.). A TTI in an eCC may consist of one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

The wireless communication system 100 may be an NR system that may utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed frequency bands, or the like. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectra. In some examples, NR-shared spectrum may improve spectral utilization and spectral efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domains) and horizontal (e.g., across time domains) sharing of resources.

The base station 105 may wirelessly communicate with multiple UEs 115 using beamforming communications. In some cases, each beam of the base station 105 may serve multiple UEs 115, such as if the UEs 115 are in close proximity. Each UE115 may not use a large amount of bandwidth for its payload, and thus the UEs 115 may be frequency division multiplexed on the same beam. Grouping UEs 115 that are in close spatial proximity may provide some benefits to the base station 105. For example, when the base station 105 performs beam scanning, the grouped UEs 115 may scan together as a group.

To help the base station 105 identify the UE group, the UE115 may send a group proximity message to the base station 105. The group proximity message may indicate that there are groups of UEs 115 that are proximate to each other. In some cases, the group proximity message may include an approximation of the proximity of the UE115, such as the UE115 being within a certain radius. The group proximity message may include information of the UEs 115 in the group (such as an identifier of the UE 115), an identifier of the group, a proximity metric such as a group radius, a leading UE identifier, a UE location, or any combination thereof. The group information may be dynamically updated, for example, by sending another group proximity message.

The base station 105 may receive the group proximity message and communicate with the group of UEs 115 based on the group proximity message. In some cases, by indicating the group of UEs 115, the base station 105 may be able to reduce beam measurement and reporting overhead. For example, the base station 105 may configure only a subset of the UEs 115 in the group for beam measurement and reporting, and then the base station 105 may use the same beam for each UE115 in the group. In some cases, reference signals for UE beam measurements may be signaled to the UEs 115 of the group (e.g., only one UE115 of the group), and each UE115 in the group may measure the reference signals. In some cases, the group proximity message may reduce beam scanning signaling overhead for the base station. For example, the base station 105 may update the beam scanning pattern of the group of UEs 115 rather than signaling the change individually to each UE 115.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system may include a base station 105-a and a UE115, which may be respective examples of the base station 105 and the UE115 as described with reference to fig. 1.

The wireless communication system 200 may support beamformed communication. For example, the base station 105-a may directionally transmit to the UE115 using the transmit beam 205, and the UE115 may monitor the transmission using the receive beam direction. In an example, a base station 105-a may communicate with two UEs 115 in different directions from the base station 105-a. The base station 105-a may transmit to the first UE115 using a first beam and the base station 105-a may transmit to the second UE115 using a second beam.

In some cases, each beam 205 (e.g., each base station beam) may serve multiple UEs 115. For example, when UEs 115 are densely distributed (e.g., multiple UEs 115 are nearby) or when the antenna array is divided into multiple sub-array MIMO for Multiple Users (MUs) (MU-MIMO), each beam may serve multiple UEs 115. In an example, the first beam 205-a may serve a first group 210-a of UEs 115 and the second beam 205-b may serve a second group 210-b of UEs 115. The first group 210-a of UEs 115 may include three UEs 115 (e.g., UE1, UE2, and UE 3). The second group 210-b of UEs 115 may also include three UEs 115 (e.g., UE4, UE5, and UE 6). In other examples, the group 210 of UEs 115 may include a different number of UEs 115.

In some cases, UE115 may not use a large amount of bandwidth for its payload. For example, in an internet of things (IOT) system, such as an industrial internet of things (IIOT) system, a scheduled UE may use less bandwidth than allocated for its payload (e.g., may not require large bandwidth for its payload). Accordingly, the UEs 115 may be grouped such that the grouped UEs 115 can be served by the same beam or close beams (e.g., spatially close) by frequency division multiplexing the grouped UEs 115 to save the spatial dimension for multiplexing the UEs 115 in different directions. For example, a first group 210-a of UEs 115 may be in proximity to each other and each use a relatively small amount of bandwidth for communication. Thus, the base station 105-a may communicate with the first group 210-a of UEs 115 using the first beam 205-a, and each UE115 of the first group 210-a may be allocated a different portion of the bandwidth on the first beam 205-a.

Grouping UEs 115 that are in close spatial proximity may provide some benefits for the base station 105 to perform multi-beam scanning. For example, the grouped UEs 115 may be scanned together as a group. In some cases, the group formation may be updated based on UE and environmental mobility. For example, if the UE1 is initially closest to the base station 105-a but moves to a location that is spatially farthest from other UEs 115 in the first group 210-a (e.g., from the UE2 and the UE3), the base station 105-a may manage and track the location and relative location of the UEs 115 in the first group 210-a (e.g., based on positioning reports sent by the UEs 115). The wireless communication system 200 may support techniques for managing UE and UE group proximity and location.

For example, the UE115 may indicate to the base station 105-a that there are groups 210 of UEs 115 that are close to each other. The UE115 may send a group proximity message to indicate the group 210 of UEs 115. In an example, the first group 210-a of UEs 115 may be in a car, on a moving robot, or on a different vehicle in a queue. A UE1 in a first group 210-a of UEs 115 may send an indication to base station 105-a that UE1, UE2, and UE3 are proximate. In some cases, the indication may include an approximation of the proximity of the UE115, such as the UE115 being included within a certain radius (e.g., within X meters). For example, the radius may be a group radius. In some cases, a device may be considered high density within a one meter radius, while a device included within a two meter radius may be considered normal density. In some examples, multiple UEs 115 of group 210 may send a group proximity message for group 210 to base station 105-a.

The UE115 may use a number of different techniques to detect the presence of other UEs 115 in proximity. For example, the UEs 115 may communicate using device-to-device (D2D) communication, and the two UEs 115 may determine that they are within close spatial proximity based on the D2D range estimate. In some cases, two UEs 115 may detect the same beacon (e.g., from a single vehicle), and the UEs 115 may determine that they are each able to detect the beacon. In some cases, a fixed group of UEs 115 may be installed on the same mobile object. In some examples, a fixed group of UEs 115 may be pre-configured to identify the fixed group. In some cases, the UEs 115 of the group 210 may form a communication group, such as the UEs 115 used in a vehicle fleet.

The group proximity message indicating group 210 may include information of UEs 115 in group 210. For example, the indication may include an identifier of the UE115, a proximity metric (e.g., proximity metric data) such as a group radius, a leader UE ID, a UE location, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the leading UE may be identified based on proximity or other factors (e.g., capabilities, device type, etc.). The group information may be dynamically updated. For example, if a UE115 leaves the proximity of the group 210 (e.g., moves to a location outside of the group radius), the UE115 of the group 210 (e.g., a UE115 that leaves the proximity of the group 210, another UE115 of the group 210) may send another indication that includes an indicator that one or more UEs 115 have left the group 210. The proximity indication of the UE may assist the base station 105-a because the base station 105-a may not be constantly polling for positioning data from various UEs 115.

The base station 105-a may receive the group proximity message and communicate with the group 210 of UEs 115 based on the information in the group proximity message. In some aspects, the group proximity message may indicate that the group 210 of UEs 115 are within a defined proximity of each other based on UE location data of one or more UEs 115 within the group 210 of UEs 115. In some examples, the base station 105-a may receive a set of UE identifiers associated with (e.g., belonging to) a particular group identifier. The base station 105-a may determine the neighboring UEs 115 (e.g., based on a threshold, e.g., within a group radius) based on the UE location data (e.g., positioning reports) provided by each UE 115. In some cases, the base station 105-a may be able to reduce beam measurement and reporting overhead by instructing the group 210 of UEs 115. For example, if the UE angular spread (e.g., from the base station 105-a to the UEs 115 in the group 210) is less than the base station beam width, the base station 105-a may send a beam configuration that configures a subset of the UEs 115 in the group 210 for beam measurement and reporting. The base station 105-a may then use the same base station beam 205 for all UEs 115 in the group 210.

For example, the UE1, the UE2, and the UE3 in the first group 210-a may be close enough together (e.g., based on proximity, e.g., within a group radius) such that the UE angular spread measured at the base station 105-a is less than the width of the beam 205 of the base station 105-a. For example, if each UE115 in the first group 210-a has a separate beam 205, the beams will overlap significantly, taking into account the beam width and proximity of the UEs 115. Thus, in contrast, the base station 105-a may transmit a beam configuration that configures only the UEs 1 of the first group 210-a for beam measurement and reporting. The base station 105-a may select the first beam 205-a and use the first beam 205-a for each UE115 in the first group 210-a. In some cases, the base station 105-a may determine to configure the UE1 for beam measurement and reporting based on the proximity, capability, signal strength, or other factors of the UE 1.

The reference signals for UE beam measurements may be signaled to the UEs 115 of the first group 210-a, e.g., only one UE115 (e.g., UE1) of the first group 210-a, and each UE115 in the first group 210-a may measure the reference signals. For example, the base station 105-a may send a reference signal for UE beam refinement to the UE1, and the same reference signal may be measured by the UE2 and the UE 3. The same predetermined beam switching sequence may be applied to a group of UEs if the UEs 115 in the group 210 move in a predetermined pattern. For example, if the group 210 of UEs 115 moves in the same direction (e.g., and maintains similar proximity, e.g., proximity range within a threshold), the base station 105-a may switch beams and use a new beam for each UE115 in the group 210. For example, the base station 105-a may switch from using a separate beam for each UE115 to using the same beam for each UE115 in the group 210.

For some UE group formation (e.g., in a vehicle queue), the base station 105-a may transmit a beam configuration to configure a subset of the UEs 115 in the group 210 for beam measurement and reporting, e.g., the UEs 115 at the edge of the formation. In an example, two UEs 115 at two edges of the formation of the group 210 of UEs 115 may be configured for beam measurement and reporting, and other UEs 115 in the group 210 may not be configured for beam measurement and reporting. Based on the determined beams for the two UEs 115, the base station 105-a may select a beam 205 for each UE115 in the group 210 based on their relative positions in the formation. In some aspects, the base station 105-a may provide the beam configuration for the group 210 of UEs 115 through a multicast message or a broadcast message for the group 210 of UEs 115. The multicast message or the broadcast message may indicate the beam 205 selected by the base station 105-a for each UE115 in the group 210 of UEs 115. In some aspects, the broadcast or multicast message may include group common Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE). In some examples, the DCI may include a group-common DCI associated with group 210. In some aspects, the group common DCI may be scrambled based on Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs) associated with all UEs 115 in the group 210. The RNTI may be indicated by the base station 105-a to each UE115 in the group 210.

In some cases, the group proximity message may reduce beam scanning signaling overhead for base station 105-a. The base station 105-a may update (e.g., via signaling) the same beam scanning pattern for the group 210 of UEs 115 to save separate signaling overhead. For example, instead of indicating an updated beam scanning pattern for each UE115 in the first group 210-a, the base station 105-a may send a beam configuration to the UE115 of the first group 210-a (e.g., to only the UE1) that provides an indication of the updated beam scanning pattern. The UE1 may then indicate the updated beam scanning pattern to the other UEs 115 in the first group 210-a. The base station 105-a may then perform a beam scanning procedure according to the indicated beam scanning pattern to enable the base station 105-a, the UEs in the first group 210-a, or both, to select beams for uplink and downlink transmissions.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, process flow 300 may implement aspects of wireless communication system 100. The process flow 300 includes a UE 115-a and a base station 105-b, which may be respective examples of the UE115 and the base station 105 as described with reference to fig. 1. The UE 115-a may be spatially close to other UEs 115, forming a group 305 of UEs 115. Group 305 may include aspects of group 210 of UEs 115 as described with reference to fig. 2.

The UE 115-a may identify other UEs 115 in the vicinity. For example, UE 115-a may detect other UEs 115 in proximity based on D2D communication, receiving a common beacon signal, and so on. At 310, the UE 115-a may transmit a group proximity message indicating that a group 305 of UEs 115 including the UE 115-a and at least a second UE115 are within a defined proximity of each other. For example, the UEs 115 of the group 305 may be within a radius of one meter (e.g., for high density) or two meters (e.g., for normal density). The group proximity message may be sent to base station 105-b. In some other examples, the group proximity message may be sent to a relay node or an intermediate communication device that manages the group 305.

In some cases, the group proximity message may include a group identifier of the group of UEs. In some examples, the group proximity message may include group information for a group of UEs 115. In some cases, the group information includes UE identifiers, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifiers, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs. At 315, the UE 115-a may receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. At 320, the UE 115-a may communicate with the base station 105-b based on the beam configuration.

In some cases, the beam configuration may reduce beam measurement and reporting overhead for base station 105-b. For example, the base station 105-b may configure the UEs 115 of the group 305 using a beam configuration, e.g., only one UE of the group 305 (e.g., UE 115-a) for beam measurement and reporting, and the base station 105-b may select the same beam for all UEs 115 in the group 305 based on the beam measurement and reporting of UE 115-a. The base station 105-a may configure the UEs 115 of the group 305, e.g., only one UE115 of the group 305, if the UE angular spread of the UEs 115 in the group 305 is less than the width of the beam used by the base station 105-a.

For example, the beam configuration may indicate a beam measurement reporting configuration for the group 305 of UEs 115. Then, at 320, UE 115-a may send a beam measurement report for group 305 of UEs 115 to the base station based on the beam measurement report configuration. In some cases, the UE 115-a may monitor data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station 105-b via a beam selected for transmission to the group 305 of UEs 115 based on the beam measurement report.

In another example, for certain UE group formations, the base station 105-b may use the beam configuration to configure a subset of the UEs 115 in the group 305 for beam measurement and reporting. For example, the base station 105-b may configure the UE 115-a and the second UE115 for beam measurement and reporting, but the other UEs 115 in the group may not be configured for beam measurement and reporting. In an example, the beam configuration may indicate a first beam measurement reporting configuration for a first subset of the group of UEs and a second beam measurement reporting configuration for a second subset of the group of UEs. Then, at 320, UE 115-a may transmit a first beam measurement report of the first subset to base station 105-a based on the first beam measurement reporting configuration, and UEs in the second subset may transmit a second beam measurement report of the second subset to base station 105-a based on the second beam measurement reporting configuration. The UE 115-a may monitor for data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station 105-b via the beam selected by the base station 105-b for transmission to the first subset based on the first beam measurement report. UEs in the second subset may similarly monitor for data transmissions or control transmissions from base station 105-b via beams selected by base station 105-b for transmissions to the second subset based on the second beam measurement report.

Additionally, the base station 105-a may transmit a beam configuration 315 to the UE 115-a that provides an indication of the beam scanning pattern. The UE 115-a may then indicate the beam scanning pattern to the other UEs 115 in the group. Base station 105-b may then perform a beam scanning procedure in accordance with the indicated beam scanning pattern to enable base station 105-b, the UEs in the group, or both, to select a beam for transmitting uplink and/or downlink transmissions at 320.

Fig. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 of a device 405 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The device 405 may be an example of aspects of a UE115 as described herein. The device 405 may include a receiver 410, a communication manager 415, and a transmitter 420. The device 405 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 410 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information related to group indication of spatially proximate UEs, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device 405. The receiver 410 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. Receiver 410 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 415 may transmit a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, receive a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicate with the base station based on the beam configuration. The communication manager 415 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 710 described herein.

The communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 415 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The communication manager 415 or sub-components thereof may be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components in different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 415 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

Transmitter 420 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 405. In some examples, the transmitter 420 may be collocated with the receiver 410 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 420 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. The transmitter 420 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram 500 of a device 505 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 505 may be an example of an aspect of device 405 or UE115 as described herein. The device 505 may include a receiver 510, a communication manager 515, and a transmitter 535. The device 505 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 510 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information related to group indication of spatially proximate UEs, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 505. The receiver 510 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. Receiver 510 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 415 as described herein. The communication manager 515 may include a group proximity messaging component 520, a beam configuration component 525, and a beamforming communication component 530. The communication manager 515 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 710 described herein.

Group proximity message sending component 520 may send a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. Beam configuration component 525 may receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. Beamforming communication component 530 may communicate with a base station based on a beam configuration.

The transmitter 535 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 505. In some examples, the transmitter 535 may be collocated with the receiver 510 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 535 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 720 described with reference to fig. 7. The transmitter 535 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of a communication manager 605 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 605 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 415, the communication manager 515, or the communication manager 710 described herein. Communication manager 605 may include a group proximity messaging component 610, a beam configuration component 615, a beamforming communication component 620, a beam measurement reporting component 625, and a beam scanning pattern component 630. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

Group proximity message sending component 610 may send a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. In some examples, group proximity messaging component 610 may send a group identifier for a group of UEs. In some examples, group proximity messaging component 610 may send group information for a group of group UEs. In some cases, the group information includes one or more of a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

Beam configuration component 615 can receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. Beamforming communication component 620 may communicate with a base station based on a beam configuration.

Beam measurement reporting component 625 may receive a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration for a group of UEs. In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may send, by the first UE, beam measurement reports for the group of UEs to the base station based on the beam measurement reporting configuration. In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may monitor data transmissions or control transmissions from a base station via a beam selected for transmission to a group of UEs based on a beam measurement report.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may receive a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration for a first subset of the group of UEs, the first subset including the first UE.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may send, by the first UE, a first subset of beam measurement reports to the base station based on the beam measurement reporting configuration. In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may monitor for data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via beams selected for transmission to the first subset based on the beam measurement reports.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting component 625 may receive a broadcast message or a multicast message for a group of UEs indicating a beam selected by a base station for each UE in the group of UEs, where communication with the base station may be based on the broadcast message or the multicast message. In some cases, the broadcast message or the multicast message may include DCI or MAC-CE. In some cases, the DCI may include a group common DCI. In some cases, the group common DCI may be scrambled using an RNTI associated with the group of UEs.

In some cases, the first UE and the second UE are located at respective edges of a formation of the group of UEs, and wherein the base station selects a beam for each UE in the group based on a relative position of the respective UE in the group of UEs.

Beam scanning pattern component 630 may receive a beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern for a group of UEs, wherein communications with a base station are conducted according to the beam scanning pattern.

Fig. 7 illustrates a diagram of a system 700 including a device 705 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 705 may be, or include an example of, a component of device 405, device 505, or UE115 as described herein. Device 705 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communications manager 710, an I/O controller 715, a transceiver 720, an antenna 725, memory 730, and a processor 740. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 745.

The communication manager 710 may transmit a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, receive a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicate with the base station based on the beam configuration.

I/O controller 715 may manage input and output signals for device 705. I/O controller 715 may also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 705. In some cases, I/O controller 715 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I/O controller 715 may utilize a memory such as

Or other operating system known to the operating system. In other cases, I/O controller 715 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I/O controller 715 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 705 via I/O controller 715 or via hardware components controlled by I/O controller 715.

The transceiver 720 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, transceiver 720 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 720 may also include a modem that modulates packets and provides the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission and demodulation of packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 725. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 725 capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions in parallel.

Memory 730 may include Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM). The memory 730 may store computer-readable computer-executable code 735 that includes instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 730 may contain, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 740 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 740 may be configured to operate the memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 740. Processor 740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 730) to cause apparatus 705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support group indication of spatially proximate UEs).

Code 735 may include instructions for implementing aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. Code 735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 735 may not be directly executable by processor 740, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram 800 of an apparatus 805 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The device 805 may be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a communication manager 815, and a transmitter 820. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 810 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to group indication of spatially proximate UEs, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 805. The receiver 810 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. Receiver 810 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 815 may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, transmit a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicate with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration. The communication manager 815 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1110 described herein.

The communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, code executed by a processor (e.g., software or firmware), or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure.

The actions performed by the communication manager 815 as described herein may be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages. An implementation may allow a base station 105 to reduce overhead for managing beamforming configurations of neighboring UEs 115. By receiving the group proximity message from the UEs 115, the base station 105 may perform efficient signaling by indicating the beamforming configuration of the group of UEs 115 rather than individually indicating the beamforming configuration of each UE 115. For example, the UEs 115 may be close enough together that the base station 105 can frequency division multiplex the UEs 115 on the same beam. The base station 105 may then perform only one beam update and, in some cases, transmit beam update information for a single UE 115. In addition, the base station 105 may configure a subset of the UEs 115 in the group, in some cases a single UE115, for beam measurement and reporting. This can provide measurement information of the same granularity or approximately the same granularity, while the overhead of signaling is significantly reduced.

The communication manager 815, or subcomponents thereof, may be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functionality are implemented by one or more physical components in different physical locations. In some examples, the communication manager 815 or subcomponents thereof may be separate and distinct components in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the communication manager 815 or subcomponents thereof may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including but not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or combinations thereof, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 820 may be collocated with the receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 820 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. The transmitter 820 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram 900 of a device 905 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an example of a device 805 or an aspect of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 935. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

Receiver 910 can receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to group indication of spatially proximate UEs, etc.). Information may be passed to other components of device 905. The receiver 910 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. Receiver 910 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815 as described herein. The communication manager 915 may include a group proximity message receiving component 920, a beam configuration transmitting component 925, and a beamforming communication component 930. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1110 described herein.

Group proximity message receiving component 920 may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. The beam configuration transmitting component 925 may transmit the beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message. The beamforming communication component 930 may communicate with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

The transmitter 935 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 935 may be collocated with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 935 may be an example of an aspect of the transceiver 1120 described with reference to fig. 11. The transmitter 935 may use a single antenna or a set of antennas.

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram 1000 of a communication manager 1005 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1005 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815, the communication manager 915, or the communication manager 1110 described herein. The communication manager 1005 may include a group proximity message receiving component 1010, a beam configuration transmitting component 1015, a beamforming communication component 1020, a beam measurement report configuration component 1025, and a beam scanning pattern component 1030. Each of these modules may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

Group proximity message receiving component 1010 may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. In some examples, group proximity message receiving component 1010 may receive a group proximity message indicating mobile sequence information of one or more UEs in a group of UEs.

In some examples, group proximity message receiving component 1010 may receive a group identifier for a group of UEs. In some examples, group proximity message receiving component 1010 may receive a set of UE identifiers associated with a group identifier, where the set of UE identifiers may correspond to the first UE and the second UE. In some examples, group proximity message receiving component 1010 may receive group information for a group of UEs. In some cases, the group information includes one or more of a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs. In some cases, the group proximity message may indicate that the group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other based on UE location data of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

Beam configuration transmitting component 1015 may transmit a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. Beamforming communication component 1020 may communicate with a group of UEs based on a beam configuration.

The beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may transmit a beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration for the group of UEs. In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may receive, from a first UE of the group of UEs, a beam measurement report for the group of UEs based on the beam measurement reporting configuration.

In some examples, beam measurement report configuration component 1025 may send data transmissions or control transmissions to one or more UEs of the group of UEs via a beam selected for transmission to the group of UEs based on the beam measurement report.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may transmit a beam configuration indicating a first beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of the group of UEs and a second beam measurement reporting configuration of a second subset of the group of UEs.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may select a beam for each UE in the group based on the relative position of the individual UEs in the group. In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may receive, from a first UE of the group of UEs, a first beam measurement report based on a first subset of the first beam measurement reporting configuration.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may receive, from a second UE of the group of UEs, a second beam measurement report based on a second subset of the second beam measurement reporting configuration. In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may send a first data transmission or a first control transmission from the base station to the first subset via selecting a first beam for transmission to the first subset based on the first beam measurement report.

In some examples, beam measurement reporting configuration component 1025 may send a second data transmission or a second control transmission from the base station to the second subset via selecting a second beam for transmission to the second subset based on the second beam measurement report.

Beam scanning pattern component 1030 may transmit a beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern for a group of UEs, wherein communication with the group of UEs is according to the beam scanning pattern.

In some examples, beam scanning pattern component 1030 may transmit a broadcast message or a multicast message for the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE in the group of UEs, where communication with the group of UEs may be based on the broadcast message or the multicast message. In some cases, the broadcast message or the multicast message may include DCI or MAC-CE. In some cases, the DCI may include a group common DCI. In some cases, the group common DCI may be scrambled using an RNTI associated with the group of UEs.

Fig. 11 shows a diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Device 1105 may be, or include an example of, a component of device 805, device 905, or base station 105 as described herein. The device 1105 may include components for two-way voice and data communications including components for sending and receiving communications including a communications manager 1110, a network communications manager 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, a memory 1130, a processor 1140 and an inter-station communications manager 1145. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses, such as bus 1150.

The communication manager 1110 may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other, transmit a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message, and communicate with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration.

The network communication manager 1115 may manage (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links) communication with a core network. For example, the network communications manager 1115 may manage the transfer of data communications for client devices such as one or more UEs 115.

The transceiver 1120 may communicate bi-directionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, transceiver 1120 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1120 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission and demodulation of packets received from the antenna.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1125. However, in some cases, a device may have more than one antenna 1125 capable of sending or receiving multiple wireless transmissions in parallel.

The memory 1130 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1130 may store computer readable code 1135 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1140), cause the apparatus to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1130 may contain, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

Processor 1140 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combinations thereof). In some cases, processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into processor 1140. The processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1130) to cause the apparatus 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support group indication of spatially proximate UEs).

The inter-station communication manager 1145 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler to control communications with the UEs 115 in cooperation with the other base stations 105. For example, the inter-station communication manager 1145 may coordinate scheduling of transmissions to the UEs 115 for various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-station communication manager 1145 may provide an X2 interface within LTE/LTE-a wireless communication network technology to provide communication between base stations 105.

The actions performed by communication manager 1110 as described herein may be implemented to realize one or more potential advantages at components of device 1105. For example, power efficiency and resource efficiency at the device 1105 may be improved by grouping UEs 115 together and reducing signaling overhead for beam management. For example, device 1105 may have less overhead allocated to beam management signaling so that device 1105 may improve data throughput.

Code 1135 may include instructions to implement aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions to support wireless communications. Code 1135 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, code 1135 may not be directly executable by processor 1140, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

Fig. 12 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1200 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1200 may be implemented by a UE115 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1200 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1205, the UE may transmit a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. The operations of 1205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by the group proximity messaging component described with reference to fig. 4-7.

At 1210, the UE may receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. 1210 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a beam configuration component as described with reference to fig. 4-7.

At 1215, the UE may communicate with the base station based on the beam configuration. The operations of 1215 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1215 may be performed by a beamforming communication component as described with reference to fig. 4-7.

Fig. 13 illustrates a flow chart showing a method 1300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1300 may be implemented by UE115 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1300 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 4-7. In some examples, the UE may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the UE to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1305, the UE may send a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. 1305 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by the group proximity messaging component described with reference to fig. 4-7.

At 1310, the UE may receive a beam configuration for a group of UEs based on the group proximity message. 1310 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1310 may be performed by a beam configuration component as described with reference to fig. 4-7.

At 1315, the UE may transmit, by the first UE, a beam measurement report for the group of UEs to the base station based on the beam measurement report configuration. 1315 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by a beam measurement reporting component as described with reference to fig. 4-7.

Fig. 14 shows a flow chart illustrating a method 1400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of the method 1400 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1405, the base station may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. 1405 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1405 may be performed by a group proximity message receiving component as described with reference to fig. 8-11.

At 1410, the base station may transmit a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message. 1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by a beam configuration transmitting component as described with reference to fig. 8-11.

At 1415, the base station may communicate with the group of UEs based on the beam configuration. The operations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1415 may be performed by a beamforming communication component as described with reference to fig. 8-11.

Fig. 15 shows a flow diagram illustrating a method 1500 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by a communication manager as described with reference to fig. 8-11. In some examples, the base station may execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

At 1505, the base station may receive a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other. 1505 may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1505 may be performed by the group proximity message receiving component described with reference to fig. 8-11.

At 1510, the base station may transmit a beam configuration for the group of UEs based on the group proximity message. 1510 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1510 may be performed by a beam configuration transmitting component as described with reference to fig. 8-11.

At 1515, the base station may receive a beam measurement report for the group of UEs based on the beam measurement report configuration from a first UE of the group of UEs. 1515 the operations may be performed in accordance with the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 1515 may be performed by a beam measurement reporting configuration component as described with reference to fig. 8-11.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified, and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication systems such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), and so on. CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 version may be commonly referred to as CDMA20001X, 1X, etc. IS-856(TIA-856) IS commonly referred to as CDMA20001 xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes wideband CDMA (wcdma) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM).

The OFDMA system may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE802.16(WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Flash-OFDM, and so forth. UTRA and E-UTRA are parts of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A and LTE-A Pro are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "third Generation partnership project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "third generation partnership project 2" (3GPP 2). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio techniques mentioned herein as well as other systems and radio techniques. Although aspects of the LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR terminology may be used in many of the descriptions, the techniques described herein may be applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro or NR applications.

A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions of the network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station than a macro cell, and may operate in the same or a different frequency band (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) than the macro cell. According to various examples, the small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells. For example, a pico cell may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions of the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in the home, etc.). The eNB for the macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, or home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

The wireless communication systems described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately coincident in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations may not be consistent in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous operations or asynchronous operations.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or a combination of any of these. Features that perform a function may also be physically located at different positions, including being distributed such that portions of the function are performed at different physical locations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (eeprom), flash memory, Compact Disc (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, the inclusion of "or" as used in the list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of … …" or "one or more of … …") in the claims means an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B or C represents a or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., a and B and C). Further, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition a" may be based on both condition a and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on".

In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label or other subsequent reference labels.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and is not intended to represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," rather than "preferred" or "superior to other examples. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, the techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communications by a first User Equipment (UE), comprising:

transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other;

receiving a beam configuration for a group of the UEs based at least in part on the group proximity message; and

communicate with a base station based at least in part on the beam configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the beam configuration comprises:

receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for the group of UEs.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein communicating with the base station comprises:

transmitting, by the first UE to the base station, a beam measurement report for the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam measurement report configuration.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via a beam selected for transmission to the group of UEs based, at least in part, on the beam measurement report.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the beam configuration comprises:

receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of the group of UEs, the first subset including the first UE.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein communicating with the base station comprises:

transmitting, by the first UE, the first subset of beam measurement reports to the base station based at least in part on the beam measurement reporting configuration.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via a beam selected for transmission to the first subset based at least in part on the beam measurement report.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first UE and the second UE are located at respective edges of a formation of the group of UEs, and wherein a beam is selected by the base station for each UE in the group of UEs based at least in part on relative positions of the respective UEs in the group.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the beam configuration further comprises:

receiving a broadcast message or a multicast message of the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE of the group of UEs, wherein communicating with the base station is based at least in part on the broadcast message or the multicast information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the broadcast message or the multicast message comprises Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the DCI comprises a group-common DCI.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the group common DCI is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with the group of UEs.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the group proximity message comprises:

transmitting a group identifier of the group of UEs.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the group proximity message comprises:

transmitting group information of the group of UEs.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the group information comprises one or more of: a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the beam configuration comprises:

receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of the group of UEs, wherein communication with the base station is in accordance with the beam scanning pattern.

17. A method for wireless communications by a base station, comprising:

receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other;

transmitting a beam configuration for a group of the UEs based at least in part on the group proximity message; and

communicating with the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam configuration.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the beam configuration comprises:

transmitting the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for the group of UEs.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the group communication with the UE comprises:

receiving, from the first UE of the group of UEs, a beam measurement report of the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam measurement report configuration.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

sending a data transmission or a control transmission to one or more UEs of the group of UEs via a beam selected for transmission to the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam measurement report.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the beam configuration comprises:

transmitting the beam configuration indicating a first beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of the group of UEs and a second beam measurement reporting configuration of a second subset of the group of UEs.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the first UE and the second UE are located at respective edges of a formation of the group of UEs, the method further comprising:

selecting a beam for each UE in the group of UEs based at least in part on the relative position of the respective UE in the group.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the group communication with the UE comprises:

receiving a first beam measurement report of the first subset from the first UE of the group of UEs based at least in part on the first beam measurement report configuration; and

receiving a second beam measurement report of the second subset from the second UE of the group of UEs based at least in part on the second beam measurement report configuration.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

sending a first data transmission or a first control transmission from the base station to the first subset via selection of a first beam for transmission to the first subset based at least in part on the first beam measurement report; and

sending a second data transmission or a second control transmission from the base station to the second subset via selecting a second beam for transmission to the second subset based at least in part on the second beam measurement report.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving the group proximity message comprises:

receiving the group proximity message indicating mobile sequence information of one or more UEs in the group of UEs.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving the group proximity message comprises:

receiving a group identifier for the group of UEs.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein receiving the group proximity message comprises:

receiving a set of UE identifiers associated with the group identifier, wherein the set of UE identifiers corresponds to the first UE and the second UE.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving the group proximity message comprises:

group information of the group of UEs is received.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the group information comprises one or more of: a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the group proximity message is based at least in part on UE location data of one or more UEs within the group of UEs indicating that the group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within the defined proximity of each other.

31. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the beam configuration comprises:

transmitting the beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of the group of UEs, wherein group communication with the UEs is in accordance with the beam scanning pattern.

32. The method of claim 17, wherein transmitting the beam configuration further comprises:

transmitting a broadcast message or a multicast message of the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE of the group of UEs, wherein group communication with the UEs is based at least in part on the broadcast message or the multicast message.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the broadcast message or the multicast message comprises Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the DCI comprises a group-common DCI.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising scrambling the group common DCI using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with the group of UEs.

36. An apparatus for wireless communication by a first User Equipment (UE), comprising:

means for transmitting a group proximity message indicating that a group of UEs including the first UE and the second UE are within a defined proximity of each other;

means for receiving a beam configuration for a group of the UEs based at least in part on the group proximity message; and

means for communicating with a base station based at least in part on the beam configuration.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for receiving the beam configuration further comprises:

means for receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for the group of UEs.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the means for communicating with the base station further comprises:

means for transmitting a beam measurement report for the group of UEs to the base station based at least in part on the beam measurement report configuration.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising:

means for monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via a beam selected for transmission to the group of UEs based, at least in part, on the beam measurement report.

40. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for receiving the beam configuration further comprises:

means for receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of the group of UEs, the first subset including the first UE.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the means for communicating with the base station further comprises:

means for transmitting the first subset of beam measurement reports to the base station based at least in part on the beam measurement reporting configuration.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, further comprising:

means for monitoring data transmissions or control transmissions from the base station via a beam selected for transmission to the first subset based at least in part on the beam measurement report.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the first UE and the second UE are located at respective edges of a formation of the group of UEs, and wherein a beam is selected by the base station for each UE in the group of UEs based at least in part on relative positions of respective UEs in the group of UEs.

44. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for receiving the beam configuration further comprises:

means for receiving a broadcast message or a multicast message of the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE of the group of UEs, wherein the means for communicating with the base station further comprises means for communicating with the base station based at least in part on the broadcast message or the multicast information.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the broadcast message or the multicast message comprises Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the DCI comprises a group-common DCI.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the group common DCI is scrambled using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of the UEs.

48. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for transmitting the group proximity message further comprises:

means for transmitting a group identifier for the group of UEs.

49. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for transmitting the group proximity message further comprises:

means for transmitting group information of the group of UEs.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the group information comprises one or more of: a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

51. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the means for receiving the beam configuration further comprises:

means for receiving the beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of the group of UEs, wherein means for communicating with the base station is in accordance with the beam scanning pattern.

52. An apparatus for wireless communications by a base station, comprising:

means for receiving a group proximity message indicating that a group of User Equipments (UEs) including a first UE and a second UE are within a defined proximity of each other;

means for transmitting a beam configuration for a group of the UEs based at least in part on the group proximity message; and

means for communicating with the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam configuration.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for transmitting the beam configuration further comprises:

means for transmitting the beam configuration indicating a beam measurement report configuration for the group of UEs.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for communicating with the group of UEs further comprises:

means for receiving a beam measurement report for the group of UEs from the first UE of the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam measurement report configuration.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, further comprising:

means for transmitting a data transmission or a control transmission to one or more UEs of the group of UEs via selection of a beam for transmission to the group of UEs based at least in part on the beam measurement report.

56. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for transmitting the beam configuration further comprises:

means for transmitting a beam configuration indicating a first beam measurement reporting configuration of a first subset of the group of UEs and a second beam measurement reporting configuration of a second subset of the group of UEs.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the first UE and the second UE are located at respective edges of a formation of the group of UEs, the apparatus further comprising:

means for selecting a beam for each UE in the group of UEs based at least in part on the relative position of the respective UE in the group.

58. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the means for communicating with the group of UEs further comprises:

means for receiving a first beam measurement report of the first subset from the first UE of the group of UEs based at least in part on the first beam measurement report configuration; and

means for receiving a second beam measurement report of the second subset from the second UE of the group of UEs based at least in part on the second beam measurement report configuration.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, further comprising:

means for transmitting a first data transmission or a first control transmission from the base station to the first subset via selecting a first beam for transmission to the first subset based at least in part on the first beam measurement report; and

means for transmitting a second data transmission or a second control transmission from the base station to the second subset via selecting a second beam for transmission to the second subset based at least in part on the second beam measurement report.

60. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for receiving the group proximity message further comprises:

means for receiving the group proximity message indicating mobile sequence information of one or more UEs in the group of UEs.

61. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for receiving the group proximity message further comprises:

means for receiving a group identifier for the group of UEs.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the means for receiving the group proximity message further comprises:

means for receiving a set of UE identifiers associated with the group identifier, wherein the set of UE identifiers corresponds to the first UE and the second UE.

63. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for receiving the group proximity message further comprises:

means for receiving group information for the group of UEs.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the group information comprises one or more of: a UE identifier, proximity metric data, group radius data, leader identifier, UE location data, or any combination thereof, of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

65. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the group proximity message indicates that the group of UEs, including the first UE and the second UE, are within the defined proximity of each other based at least in part on UE location data of one or more UEs within the group of UEs.

66. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for transmitting the beam configuration further comprises:

means for transmitting the beam configuration indicating a beam scanning pattern of the group of UEs, wherein group communication with the UEs is in accordance with the beam scanning pattern.

67. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the means for transmitting the beam configuration further comprises:

means for transmitting a broadcast message or a multicast message for the group of UEs indicating a beam selected by the base station for each UE in the group of UEs, wherein means for communicating with the group of UEs is based at least in part on the broadcast message or the multicast message.

68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the broadcast message or the multicast message comprises Downlink Control Information (DCI) or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE).

69. The apparatus of claim 68, wherein the DCI comprises a group-common DCI.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, further comprising:

means for scrambling the group common DCI using a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with the group of UEs.

71. An apparatus for wireless communication by a first User Equipment (UE), comprising:

a processor for processing the received data, wherein the processor is used for processing the received data,

a memory coupled to the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

72. An apparatus for wireless communications by a base station, comprising:

a memory coupled to the processor; and

73. The apparatus of claim 72, wherein the instructions to transmit the beam configuration are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

74. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a first User Equipment (UE), the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

75. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication by a base station, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to: